Marine Biology News

February 18, 2025

Top Headlines

New England's Salt Marshes Store 10 Million Cars' Worth of Carbon -- And Add Another 15,000-Worth Every Year

Feb. 13, 2025 — In the race to combat global climate change, much attention has been given to natural 'carbon sinks:' those primarily terrestrial areas of the globe that absorb and sequester more carbon than they ...

Wild Fish Can Recognize Individual Divers

Feb. 18, 2025 — For years, scientific divers at a research station in the Mediterranean Sea had a problem: at some point in every field season, local fish would follow them and steal food intended as experimental rewards. Intriguingly these wild fish appeared to ...

Foraging Seals Enable Scientists to Measure Fish Abundance Across the Vast Pacific Ocean

Feb. 13, 2025 — A new study by marine biologists reports that seals can essentially act as 'smart sensors' for monitoring fish populations in the ocean's eerily dim 'twilight ...

Marine Mystery Solved: How Anemonefish Avoid Stings from Their Sea Anemone Hosts

Feb. 14, 2025 — The clownfish-anemone living arrangement is one of the most widely recognized examples of symbiosis. Researchers have made a breakthrough in understanding how anemonefish can live safely among sea ...

Latest Headlines

updated 11:17pm EST

Can Artificial Intelligence Save the Great Barrier Reef?

Feb. 12, 2025 — Researchers are designing a global real-time monitoring system to help save the world's coral reefs from further decline, primarily due to bleaching caused by global ...

Economically, Culturally Important Marine Species Vulnerable to Changing Climate

Feb. 12, 2025 — Dungeness crab, Pacific herring, and red abalone are among the marine species most vulnerable to the changing climate's effect on California's ...

Under-Sea Mountains Are Key 'Hubs' for Sharks

Feb. 14, 2025 — Under-sea mountains are key locations for predators -- with 41 times more sharks than the open ocean, new research ...

California's Marine Protected Areas Boost Fish Populations Across the State

Feb. 10, 2025 — It's 1999, the 21st century is on the horizon, and California has big plans for marine conservation. New legislation has presented a mandate to establish an ambitious network of marine protected ...

International Shark Attack File Report: Unprovoked Shark Bites Plummeted in 2024

Feb. 11, 2025 — 2024 was an exceptionally calm year for shark bites. Worldwide, there were only 47 unprovoked attacks, down 22 from the previous year and well below ...

Scientists Harness AI to Help Protect Whales, Advancing Ocean Conservation and Planning

Feb. 11, 2025 — Researchers have developed an artificial intelligence (AI) tool that will help predict endangered whale habitat, guiding ships along the Atlantic ...

Study Takes a 'Bite' out of Shark Depredation Using Citizen Science

Feb. 11, 2025 — Shark depredation is a rising issue in recreational fishing, especially in Florida, where sharks steal fish straight off anglers' lines. Researchers harnessed citizen science -- social media, angler ...

Scientists Identify Heat-Resistant Kelp Strain

Feb. 10, 2025 — Kelp is being negatively impacted by climate change. Warming ocean temperatures have led to shorter growing and harvesting seasons, including for sugar kelp, one of the most commonly farmed kelp ...

Follow the Fish's Gaze

Feb. 10, 2025 — In swarm research, a new method makes it possible to track the eye movements of fish automatically, non-invasively and in 3D. Researchers explain why this is important for understanding the 'rules of ...

Tracking Algae Species Interactions to Help Predict Harmful Algae Blooms

Feb. 7, 2025 — Because of climate change, harmful algal blooms are increasing in frequency and intensity. New science helps demystify the frequent harmful algal blooms in the Pacific off the coast of Chile by ...

Soft Tissue from a 183 Million-Year-Old Jurassic Plesiosaur Analyzed

Feb. 7, 2025 — Researchers have analyzed the soft tissue from a fossilized plesiosaur for the first time. The results show that the long-necked marine reptile had both smooth and scaly skin. This was likely so it ...

Some Species of Baleen Whales Avoid Attracting Killer Whales by Singing Too Low to Be Heard

Feb. 6, 2025 — New research finds some baleen whale species call at such deep frequencies that they're completely undetectable by killer whales, which cannot hear sounds below 100 hertz. These also tend to be ...

New Technology Lights Way for Accelerating Coral Reef Restoration

Feb. 6, 2025 — Scientists have developed a novel tool designed to protect and conserve coral reefs by providing them with an abundance of feeding ...

Multinational Research Project Shows How Life on Earth Can Be Measured from Space

Feb. 6, 2025 — Measurements and data collected from space can be used to better understand life on Earth. An ambitious, multinational research project has demonstrated that Earth's biodiversity can be ...

'Marine Prosperity Areas' Represent a New Hope in Conservation

Feb. 6, 2025 — An international team of researchers introduces a promising new initiative in marine conservation, dubbed 'Marine Prosperity Areas.' This science-informed effort goes beyond protecting ...

Whale Poop Contains Iron That May Have Helped Fertilize Past Oceans

Feb. 6, 2025 — A recent theory proposes that whales weren't just predators in the ocean environment: Nutrients that whales excreted may have provided a key fertilizer to these marine ecosystems. Oceanographers ...

Fishing and Conserving in Great Barrier Reef's Marine Reserves

Feb. 5, 2025 — A new study of the Great Barrier Reef has revealed that the network of no-take marine reserves supplies nearly half of the region's coral trout fishery ...

Climate Change Is Overhauling Marine Nutrient Cycles

Feb. 4, 2025 — Computer models reveal how human-driven climate change will dramatically overhaul critical nutrient cycles in the ocean. Researchers report evidence that marine nutrient cycles -- essential for ...

Octopuses Have Some of the Oldest Known Sex Chromosomes

Feb. 3, 2025 — Researchers have identified a sex chromosome in the California two-spot octopus. This chromosome has likely been around for 480 million years, since before octopuses split apart from the nautilus on ...

Revealing Underwater Secrets With New Technique

Feb. 3, 2025 — Scientists are hoping a new research technique will help unlock underwater secrets of marine ...

White Shark Liver Is on Australian Killer Whales' Menu, Genomic Evidence Confirms

Feb. 1, 2025 — DNA evidence has confirmed killer whales in Australia hunted a white shark for its liver. Based on DNA analysis from the bite wounds on the carcass of a large white shark washed ashore near Portland ...

Polar Bear Population Decline the Direct Result of Extended 'Energy Deficit' Due to Lack of Food

Jan. 30, 2025 — Researchers have directly linked population decline in polar bears living in Western Hudson Bay to shrinking sea ice caused by climate ...

Sharks and Rays Benefit from Global Warming, but Not from CO2 in the Oceans

Jan. 30, 2025 — Sharks and rays have populated the world's oceans for around 450 million years, but more than a third of the species living today are severely threatened by overfishing and the loss of their ...

Pairing Old and New Technologies Could Unlock Advances in Plankton Science

Jan. 29, 2025 — New research highlights the benefits of combining existing long-term plankton monitoring programs and emerging technologies in monitoring the health of our ...

How Tiny Algae Shaped the Evolution of Giant Clams

Jan. 27, 2025 — New research reveals how resident algae altered the genome of these fabled sea creatures, allowing them to access more ...

Underwater Mud Volcanos Are a Haven for Marine Organisms

Jan. 27, 2025 — One would think that a volcano was not the most hospitable place for living organisms. However, the Borealis Mud Volcano, at 400 m water depth, acts as a sanctuary for a number of marine ...

More Acidic Oceans May Affect the Sex of Oysters

Jan. 23, 2025 — Rising carbon dioxide levels affect more than just the climate; they also affect the chemistry of the oceans. When saltwater absorbs carbon dioxide, it becomes acidic, which alters the aquatic animal ...

Float Like a Jellyfish: New Coral Mobility Mechanisms Uncovered

Jan. 22, 2025 — When it comes time to migrate, new research has found how a free-living coral ignores the classic advice and goes straight towards the ...

Dolphins Use a 'Fat Taste' System to Get Their Mother's Milk

Jan. 21, 2025 — Juvenile dolphins were found to have specialized receptors for fatty acids on their tongues, offering new insights into their growth and feeding ...

Cycle of Coral Bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef Now at 'Catastrophic' Levels

Jan. 21, 2025 — Marine scientists highlights the complex interplay between heat stress, disease onset and coral mortality. They found that 66 percent of the colonies were bleached by February 2024 and 80 per cent by ...